“The ICE Method profoundly reminded me that pain has many

unconscious causes and solutions. Having lived with chronic pain for
almost 20 years I can say easily that ICE is the most direct and easeful
method I have used to date—and it works! I recommend this method
to anyone who suffers from pain or stress on any level; physical,
mental, or spiritual. I use ICE daily myself— an amazing tool for self-
healing and wellness!”
Kari Lyons-Price,
President NCW Integrative Health Network

“For five decades I lived with constant fight/flight/freeze stress and

anxiety, including frequent panic attacks. For the past two years, ICE
has been an absolutely simple, safe and effective way to live calm and
chip away at any of my personal baggage.”
Dennis Dyck, EFT Practitioner, Nanaimo, British Columbia

"Just after getting a college volleyball scholarship, I tore my ACL and

meniscus. I used The ICE Method to calm my fears about my injury
and my worries about the future of my volleyball career. I'm staying
calm throughout the recovery and I feel it's helping my body to recover
more quickly."
Eliana Ali’ilima-Daley, Cascade High School

“I recommend some of my clients to work with Lars and they come

back with very positive outcomes every time.”
Josette Pelletier, Co-founder. Inner Mountain Healing Art
Craniosacral Therapy, Alexander Technique, Massage

“I found the ICE method to be an amazingly simple and

incredibly effective process. I was sold immediately when I tried it on
some neck pain that had not budged no matter what other methods
and medications I had tried. Once I used ICE, the pain melted away
and didn’t return. I have also tried ICE on emotional issues with equal
success.”
Tamara Staples. President, Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center.
 Introduction

"Lars Clausen understands the chemistry of calm. I've already used

his simple ICE Method to bring calm to childhood issues that nothing
else ever addressed so directly and effectively. Just after learning the
ICE Method we had a serious illness in our family and I used The ICE
Method to stay calm and present. I am a Mental Health Counselor,
and I'll be integrating Memory Reconsolidation and The ICE Method
into my work with war veterans and others with PTSD."
Janet Roberson, M Ed, LMHC

"I had to leave college because of crippling pain and illness. Three
sessions of The ICE Method alleviated my stress and my pain. Thanks
to The ICE Method, I'm back in school again, pain free!!
Naomi Ellingson, Western Washington University

The ICE method has greatly facilitated me in my journey. It has

helped calm down my nervous system and inflammation enough to
allow my body to heal without looping through the same patterns of
pain. I am more aware of the present moment, less anxious and have
been enjoying the movement of my body. I overcame fibromyalgia. I
am a success story!
Roxanna Adams, Intuitive Empath, Winthrop WA

We are fortunate for this book and the author’s healing work, both
grounded in the solid neuroscience of memory reconsolidation. In a
very clear, simple and accessible manner, he connects breakthrough
science with an effective healing practice - remarkably available to all.
Of particular import is his critical distinction between the traditional
counteractive therapy of building new habits, and the elegant simple
process of changing peptides. This is a healing method that surely has a
bright and strong future. Looking forward to more of this author's
work. Highly recommended!
John Neff, DMin, Life Coach, QiGong and Tai Chi Teacher

Thank you for teaching me this incredibly simple approach to

dealing with life’s challenges. You’ve made our lives better.
Vicki Cash, RN

3
 Memory
Reconsolidation
Applied
Calm Your Past
to Live Your Future
(CHAPTER FOUR)

By Lars Clausen

www.ICEMethod.com
www.MemoryReconsolidation.org
Copyright © 2015 Lars C. Clausen
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-1507831854
“I must be willing to give up what I am
in order to become what I will be.”
Albert Einstein
 Contents

Foreword
Introduction
Part One
1 – A Living Mom Memory
2 – Memory Reconsolidation
3 – Paying Attention
4 – The ICE Method i

Part Two
5 – Dad’s Memory is Still Alive
6 – What Do You Really Want?
7 – ICE’ing the Download
8 – PTSD, Panic, Abuse, and Extreme Upsets
9 – Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis
10 - Quantum
11 – A Spirit Side of Peptides
12 – Death
13 – Integrating ICE with Existing Methods
14 – Last Words
Workbook and Journal
Personal Sessions and Coaching
Author
Appendix – The Field
Disclaimer
Index
Endnotes
 Foreword

Lars Clausen is the first person I have heard speak about Memory
Reconsolidation; the concept of emotional memory being stored in
peptides. When he first explained this concept to me, with my training
as a medic as well as being a doctor of acupuncture and oriental
medicine, what he spoke of made absolute sense to me.
I cannot think of a person I have ever encountered who has not
had some “life-altering experience.” Every experience in our lives has
helped us become the people we now are.
Throughout time and cultures these events have been discussed in
many ways. In classical Chinese medicine texts, the concept of
memories being stored in the blood is discussed. In Native American
traditions, it is believed that pieces of the soul can separate when one
goes through a traumatic event. Some of these pieces can even get left
behind when one “checks out” from an unbearable emotional event.
In more recent times, there are discussions taking place of traumas
being passed from one generation to the next not only in action, but
also in cellular storage.
In my own life, I have experienced traumas. I have years of
counseling and other experiences that have helped me learn to progress
in a way that I am able to like the person that I am. Like many people
though I still had certain triggers; events where I found myself
questioning whether my response was related to what actually
happened or was my it just an automated response from training or
conditioning. Half a year ago I did three sessions of The ICE Method
with Lars. I was actually able to see what these automated responses
were linked to and transform to a state of calm. In addition, the next
time a similar event arose, I found that the feeling of calm was still
present and that the triggered response of the past was no longer my
first response.
Not only did Lars share this knowledge and gift with me, Lars now
works with me at the Integrative Medical Clinic I am developing and
where he is helping others through this work. When I feel it’s
appropriate, I offer clients sessions of acupuncture in combination with
The ICE Method. Reconsolidating troubled memories at the same time
I provide attention to the person’s physical, emotional, and energetic
needs has benefited many of my clients.
All of us have opportunities for challenging life lessons. Many of
us have developed automatic responses that result in our belief that this
is “just the way I work,” or “just the way I respond to certain
situations.” Lars’ work now provides an opportunity to change these
automated responses, the ones we developed at a cellular level, in
response to our life experiences.
Memory Reconsolidation Applied is a book that can help you create
cellular change. It can help you facilitate your living with an emotional
freedom in a more preferred state; a calmer state. You hold in your
hands a book to reflect upon and apply the words and method to your
own life experiences; a book that can help you change your life's
patterned responses.

Dr. Catherine Freeman, DAOM

Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Wellness Garden Integrative Medical Clinic
Chelan, Washington.
 4 – The ICE Method

As a repeat reminder to myself and to you, the contribution I feel I

can offer is this:

 I can share Memory Reconsolidation in a simple way.

 I can offer an easy-to-learn process for calming whatever
upset emotions you have stored in your life.
Here’s the easy to learn process. You can use it without knowing
any of the science that supports Memory Reconsolidation or any of the
helpful details I share elsewhere in this book. Changing emotional
memory really is this simple. It works for any situation, past, present or
future that does not immediately and physically threaten you.
(Immediate physical threat is really the only time you need your
fight/flight/freeze stress turned on.)
The ICE Method
1. Identify
2. Calm
3. Exchange
Step 1 - Identify
When you consciously identify an emotionally-charged issue, you
activate that memory so the emotional chemistry can change. When
you identify an issue you look for any or all of the following. Don’t do
any extra work to analyze, confirm or deny whatever you identify.
Without judgment, simply observe what arises in these three areas.
 Memory – See what experiences or events or memories arise when
you pay attention to the issue you’ve identified. Don’t dig – just
observe whatever arises.
 Emotion – Notice what emotion or emotions arise as you pay
attention to the issue you’ve identified. Look especially for anger,
fear or sadness. I always invite a person to be open to other
emotions, but almost always, the core of an upset emotion holds
 anger, fear or sadness. Get as basic as possible. Annoyance is anger,
right? So is irritation. Anxiety is fear. What you’re looking for:

 Anger
 Fear
 Sadness
No matter what emotion people say they feel, it can almost always
be boiled down to anger, fear or sadness. Not always, but almost
always. For example, if a person identifies anxiety – the emotion of
anxiety is fear. If a person identifies frustration – that’s a polite word
for anger.
Sometimes people identify an emotion of shame or guilt. What is
the emotion of shame or guilt? Answer – it’s different for different
people. Ask yourself, “When I identify shame or guilt, what emotion
do I feel?” Find out whether you feel angry, afraid, sad, or another
emotion if you are identifying shame. Some people feel angry at the
person who shamed them, others feel fear because of their shame and
others are sad because of the effects shame has had on their life.
I’ve never had success helping people directly ICE shame as an
emotion – but once they identify what emotion they feel about their
shame, then the ICE’ing process can continue. We often talk about
shame as an emotion – or guilt as an emotion. I have found that any
emotion of anger, fear, or sadness can lie at the base of either shame or
guilt. Find that emotion. Then continue to ICE.
There’s no judgment in any of the emotions we feel. I’ll say that
again. It’s critically important to recognize that you do not judge
yourself for whatever emotion you feel. But it’s also critically important
that you identify this emotion you feel. Don’t stuff away your emotion
because you think maybe you’re not supposed to feel that way. If you
feel it you can ICE it. If you stuff it, the emotion will persist because
you didn’t reconsolidate it.
 Body Sensation – Let yourself feel the emotion you identified and
see if you feel a sensation in your body somewhere, possibly your
head, jaw, neck, shoulders, heart, chest, stomach, legs, skin, etc.
The peptides you activate in your brain connect to peptides in your
body – earlier in this book I shared this science from Candace
Pert’s work. Mind and body connect, so identify whatever you feel.
If you feel nothing in your body, no problem, but do make this
 check for body sensations. Way over 90% of people will feel a
sensation in their body when they pay attention to an emotion. Not
everyone, but by far most will. It sometimes happens that a person
can’t identify a particular emotion at the moment, but they feel a
sensation in their body. Take whatever you get – it’s all stored
peptides – it’s all ICE’able.
To use the ICE Method, the first step is what we just described;
identifying your upset. You are checking for memories, for emotions,
and for sensations in your body.
Step 2 - Calm
When you identify your issue, you will feel your reactivity – you just
did that in the identify step of The ICE Method. A stored peptide
chemistry corresponds to this reaction. Now we need to step outside of
that reactivity. The calm step of ICE can occur in many ways, but the
requirement is to get yourself out of the emotional reactivity you feel
about what you identified. Focusing on two-points and empty-space
between provides a simple way that works for most people. I’ll provide
some other ways of experiencing the calm state elsewhere in this book,
including a way of feeling an energy “buzz” when we get to the chapter
on quantum. For now, here’s the two-point method.
 Observe a single point. Any point within your field of vision will
work. The top of a tree, the corner of a picture frame, a dot in the
pattern of an upholstered chair, a doorknob, whatever. Whatever
you pay attention to with your mind will cause the chemistry of
your body to follow.
A moment ago when you identified your upset issue, your body
chemistry and body function adjusted to support the emotion of
what you identified. If you felt anger or fear, your body went into a
state of fight/flight/freeze stress. Now observing this single point,
you consciously focus on something simple, so the chemistry of
your mind and body changes. Now your mind and body
corresponds to this simpler state of reduced emotional charge. You
may already even begin to feel a sense of relaxation. All because
you made a conscious choice to observe a single point.
 Observe a second point. After a moment of observing the first
point, shift your attention to a second point, not too far distant
from the first. Repeat the same exact process. Again, you focus on

15
 something simple so your body chemistry continues to relax. If you
imagine your stress response represents a certain voltage, then
observing the first point reduces your body voltage somewhat, and
the second point reduces your body voltage further.
 Finally, observe the space between the two points. Imagine this
as empty space with nothing in it. You may have a wall or a
mountain or the sky in the background of what you observe. No
matter what you have in the background, imagine this empty space
that exists directly between the two points out in front of the
background. If you can imagine this empty space in your mind, then
you can observe it with your mind. When you observe this empty
space, you observe nothing. When you observe nothing in your
outside world, your mind gets the message there is nothing to react
to. When you observe this empty space you can imagine it has zero
voltage – no charge.
Since your body chemistry always follows your mind, your
fight/flight/freeze stress response turns off. You create peptides
corresponding to this state of calm. Your body switches from
reacting to the outside environment to focusing on only your
internal environment. You switch from fight/flight/freeze to
internal rest and restoration.
Just getting to this state of rest and restoration will benefit you
greatly. Living without your stress response turned on will give you
better health. But you can do more. If you do all three steps of The
ICE Method, then this peptide of calm can also transform the
upset memory you identified a moment ago.
Step 3 - Exchange
Once you reach the calm state, observe your original upset again.
Observe exactly the same things you identified as an upset; the
memory, the emotion and the sensation in your body. You activated
this in the first step. In this third step you now reconsolidate the old
upset. All you need to do is to bring your conscious attention back to
the original upset after you experience the calm space – then you will
reconsolidate your old memory.
The process of Memory Reconsolidation, in chemical terms is this
simple:
1. Identify - This activates the old chemistry
 2. Calm - Observe a calm space – this creates new chemistry that
carries the instruction of non-reactivity for your mind and
body.
3. Exchange – When you do Step One and then Step Two, the
old emotional chemistry stored in the synapse of the memory is
ready to be replaced. Observe back on the old memory and the
old upset chemistry is replaced with the new calm chemistry
you generated in Step Two.
One important note – you need to observe back on exactly what
you activated in the Identify step. You only activate what you
consciously observe. Unactivated memories can’t be reconsolidated
until they are activated.
Yes, it really is this simple, this is the mechanism of Memory
Reconsolidation in action. Follow the mechanism, and you can
transform the stored emotion of any memory and render it
permanently calm.
If you like to dance, or if you like as many visuals as possible,
Memory Reconsolidation is also this three-step dance.
1. Step In – Step in and identify your issue
2. Step Out – Step out of the issue by observing a calm space
3. Step Back In – Exchange peptides when you observe again
the issue you identified.
What you just did was a first round of ICE. What you
reconsolidated was whatever you activated during the Identify step.
When you go back to observe the exact thing you originally identified,
you might find something new has shown up. For instance you might
feel anger initially, and then when you look back you feel sadness. This
happens because the anger reconsolidated, and now you are paying
attention to the sadness. When you recognize this sadness, as an
example, you begin activating additional memory and additional
synapses. When this happens, and it happens more often than not, you
can start another round of ICE.
Subsequent Rounds
When you exchange peptides, you will replace whatever synaptic
connections you activated with the new peptides of calm. This is the
science of the process.

17
 After one round of ICE, you may feel completely calm. Or you
might not feel calm – something new may have come into your
awareness. New synapses activate when you experience a new memory
or emotion or bodily sensation. This would make sense, given that life
is complex and you have 80 billion brain cells and trillions of synaptic
connections between these cells. ICE can reconsolidate whatever you
activate. As long as you keep identifying new memories or emotions or
bodily sensations, you can keep ICE’ing.
Repeat the ICE process with whatever shows up as not calm in
your life, and your life will grow increasingly calm. If you like the image
of the three dance steps, just keep stepping in and stepping out until
the dance floor is calm. Later, if (or more likely when) the next upset
arrives, do another round of the three-step dance.
I have people tell me they have so much stored stuff that they’ll
never get through it. Life can sure feel like that. But ICE offers a tool
to take care of whatever upset shows up right now. Whether your pile
of stuff feels large or small, ICE is really this simple, and it can be
applied over and over again. Yes, you might have a lot of stuff, but
would you rather take care of the emotional charges as they arise, or
would you rather have them persist for the rest of your life?
Whatever you ICE becomes permanently calm. Perhaps a different
way to look at overwhelming issues might be, “With such a big pile of
upsets in my life, wouldn’t it be awesome to have at least one of them
become calm right now?” I will talk much more about this in Part Two
– in fact I have a whole chapter on taking time to really know what you
want. Knowing what you want makes a huge difference.
Introducing Part Two
Which brings me to the rest of this book. What I just showed you
provides a simple method to deal with any particular upset, provided it
does not immediately physically threaten your life.
In Part Two I will show you how to bring calm to large chunks of
your life, including the patterns and reactivities you picked up as a
child. These patterns have most likely been guiding your life ever since.
You won’t need to ICE every one of the million upsets in your life, you
can address the pattern. Lots of our patterns serve us well, and we
won’t mess with those. But for many of us, we keep using the same
childhood patterns that worked for us in our earliest years. We often
get stuck doing the same thing over and over, even when we wish we
could do things differently.
What else will you find in Part Two? Other than the actual ICE
Method tools, the most important item throughout this book is for you
to pay attention to what you truly want. ICE cannot answer this
question for you. Your answer can change anytime – it can even
change every day. Some people want material things. Some people
want emotional things. Some people want relational or spiritual things.
ICE can remove barriers in the way
of getting what you want,
but ICE does not create what you want.
ICE can give you a free space so you can create what you want,
but the result of ICE is the free space this free space so you can create.
ICE frees your life so you can pursue your goals, your wants, and even
your purpose without running into your old barriers.
Some of us live with highly charged reactivity. I’ve worked with
many people who have these strong reactivities, including people who
freeze or dissociate when they remember certain situations. I’ll share
what I’ve learned from these experiences. I will include suggestions you
can use to keep your attention focused while you do the three required
steps of Memory Reconsolidation. If you can identify an issue, get to a
calm space and then exchange peptides, you will replace upset
emotions with calm emotions. If you can continue paying attention in
this way, even the strongest reactivities such as abuse, PTSD and panic
can reconsolidate to calm.
As the barriers and reactivities of your life drop away, new
horizons open up. Although I’m a pastor and worked in the religious
profession for many years, these horizons remained hidden to me until
my life started transforming from reactivity to calm. The spiritual
journey develops in lock step with our development of non-attachment
in our life. While this can happen through following a religious
tradition, it did not for me, even as a pastor in the Christian church.
Reactivity creates roadblocks on the spiritual journey, and my
reactivities never dissipated during my time in the church. Memory
Reconsolidation allowed me to finally calm and begin transforming my
life. As ICE removes your roadblocks, you may find that changing the
stored peptides in your brain leads you towards greater awareness.

19
 And finally, Part Two includes a look at integrating ICE with other
methods and also a perspective from the quantum framework.
Everything you learn in this book applies the understanding of
chemistry stored at synapses in your brain. Once you identify that
chemistry, you can replace it with different chemistry you create by a
method of conscious awareness. ICE provides a simple way to do this,
but as long as the three steps of Memory Reconsolidation happen,
you’ll experience emotional transformation. I want this discovery of
Memory Reconsolidation to find the best and the broadest
applications.

Next Steps

Thank you for reading Chapter Four. If you got everything you
need from this chapter I’m thankful. That’s my goal – to share Memory
Reconsolidation in a simple usable way that makes a difference.
If you did found Chapter Four useful, you may wish to go deeper
with ICE. There is so much more!

Memory Reconsolidation Applied contains everything I’ve

become aware of these past three years of working with hundreds of
people and learning as much as possible about Memory
Reconsolidation.

The ICE Method Workbook and Journal contain the exercises

and process that I use when I facilitate the ICE Method for individuals
or groups. The workbook has step-by-step instructions for using ICE
in many different situations. And there’s a one-month journal included
so you can take notes and keep track of your transformation. When
life reactivities change to calm – your life will be different.

Chapter Four will always be a free gift. When you run into
someone who’s carrying a charge – you might let them know they
could ICE that reaction. If they’re interested in calm – send them over
to www.ICEMethod.com where they can get this chapter for free and
starting on the path to calm right away.

If you’re not already getting the private newsletter, I’d like to

include you in the ICE tips, stories, and valuable information that I
share with the growing ICE community. Let me know at
www.ICEMethod.com and I’ll make sure to include you.

All the very best wishes!

Lars Clausen

Disclaimer

Lars Clausen is not a medical doctor. He holds a Master’s Degree

in Mechanical Engineering and earned a Master of Divinity Degree
preceding his service as a pastor. Lars Clausen does not offer medical
advice. He uses the non-invasive ICE Method to work with people
who bring emotional or physical issues for relief. Lars Clausen is not
responsible for clients’ experience with The ICE Method or their
results.
The ICE Method is not traditional Western medicine – it is not
medicine. The hypothesis is that the ICE Method works by invoking an
awareness of emotional responses engaging neuropeptides in the
process of memory reconsolidation. In this process the body and mind
will often experience relief. The ICE Method is in an experimental
stage. You must use your own common sense in deciding the
appropriateness of The ICE Method for you. If you have any medical
or other questions about using The ICE Method, you should consult
with your health care provider before using it or scheduling a session.
The ICE Method does not guarantee either specific or general
outcomes for clients. The contents of this book make no guarantee as
to accuracy or results. All content is the personal opinion of Lars

21
Clausen and is not medical or psychological advice. Usage of any
content is the responsibility of the reader.

Workbook and Journal

This book you just read can get you off to a great start using The
ICE Method.
The Workbook and Journal
can provide you additional benefits.

Working with a wide variety of people helped me experiment and

find effective ways for people to reconsolidate emotional upsets. The
workbook shares a series of exercises you can follow as a guide for
reconsolidating your own memories. The exercises start out with
reconsolidating one of your specific memories. The workbook then
gradually guides you to ICE’ing your Download and other foundational
memories. The final extended section provides an exercise for
reconsolidating high-intensity upsets such as PTSD and abuse.

Gain ICE Method proficiency quicker.

If you use the workbook, you’ll get all my experience at your
fingertips. With the workbook you can start out living The ICE
Method life at a much higher level. From this level, you can more easily
work on your own life, and the lives of other people. If you choose to
work with others, you’ll find yourself developing your own style, and
maybe even a completely distinct technique. Whatever direction you
take with The ICE Method, this workbook will greatly accelerate your
journey.
As I say to the people I work with when they ask what’s next:
“Everything is next. Go ICE everything that feels upset.” Those who
take this to heart gain a transformed life.
 Order your workbook at MemoryReconsolidationApplied.com or
directly from Amazon.

Personal Sessions and Coaching

When I’m not tucked away writing about The ICE Method, I
work collaboratively at Wellness Gardens Integrative Medical Center
here in Chelan, Washington. I facilitate the ICE Method for individuals
and for groups. I provide in-person sessions for those who live in
Central Washington. I offer online or phone sessions for those living
farther away.
For a limited number of clients, I offer personal ICE Method
coaching. Some people use me as a coach for working through difficult
issues in their life. Some people see me for chronic pain issues. Others
have started the journey to a life of calm, and they want a guide to help
them stop living their old life of constant reactivity and emotional
upset.
If you’re drawn in the direction of helping others, contact me and
I’ll be glad to assist you, either through personal sessions or as your
personal coach. Check the website for ICE Method training workshops
and programs.

23
 If you find The ICE Method useful in your life, you’ll benefit from
the process and the exercises in the workbook:
25